Filling method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

Method of and apparatus for charging aerosol containers having a propellant-charging valve in the base by securing the container in its upright position to a filling platform adapted to support the container, and by introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant up through the filling platform and into the container.

ljnilnd Staten ntcnt lnventor lllnymond W. Bellini Racine, Win.

Appl. No. 7413,7415

Filed .luly 10, 1968 Patented July 20, 119711 Assignee S. C. Johnson fir Son, lnc. llincine, Win.

lFlllLlLllNG METHUM AND APPARATUS 112 Clnims, 41 Drawing Figs.

111.5. 131 1411/3, 141/1 13 int. (11 B651) 1/04, B65b 3/04 lField 011 Search 141/3, 20,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,058,093 4/1913 Phelps .1 141/113X 2,189,852 2/1940 Yejeskiu. 141/113X 2,723,790 11/1955 Spiess 141/3 3,169,670 2/1965 Hrebenak 141/3 X Primary Examiner-Herbert F. Ross Attorney-Joseph T. Kivlin, J r,

ABSTRACT: Method of and apparatus for charging aerosol containers having a propellant-charging valve in the base by securing the container in its upright position to a filling platform adapted to support the container, and by introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant up through the filling platform and into the container.

PATENTEDJmzmsn 3.593.760

SHEET 1 [IF 2 Io Ti [1.1;

PATENIED JUL20 :971

SHEEY 2 OF 2 FILLING METHOD AND APPARATUS packaged and dispensed under pressure. In fact, insome product areas, such as hair sprays, shavingcream, insecticides,-

and the like, the specific products are sold almost exclusively in such form. Until recently, however, the range of products capable of being dispensed under pressure was severely restricted to those products having a very low-viscosity .index, that is to say to those products having a very low resistance: to pouring. Recently, industry attention hasbeen dirccted1to. a container for dispensing packaged materials under pressure which is capable of dispensing a wide range of products. This container is commonly referred to as the aerosol compartment container, i.e. one having separate compartments for the product and the propellant.

Dispensers of the class described are known to utilize an internal plastic bag which dependsfrom the top of the container and is connected toa top dispensing valve,.and which serves both as the container for the product to be dispensedandias the barrier between the product and the propellant. It is also known to utilize a movable piston in. the container to define the barrier. Regardless, however, of the internal approach:

taken, most such dispensers usually have a manually operable valve at the top and are charged with product at the top while. having a propellant-charging valve in the base. Thus, ,it will be appreciated that such dispensers cannot be chargedin the same manner as ordinary noncompartmented dispensers.

which are usually charged solely from the top.

Most presently available assembly line charging rnachine ry for use with noncompartmented dispensers includes a.filling platform adapted to support the container in the upright position and a depending charging head for engaging the top of'the container and filling it with propellant. Some attempts haye been made to utilize this machinery for charging compart mentedaerosol containers of the types-mentioned above. In-

one method, the product is filled intoits compartment; the overcap is positioned over the dispensing valve and the con? tainer-is then inverted and fed to the charging machineny. Thus, while the container is firmly supported by its overcap on the filling platform and held there by the charging head, the charging head fills the inverted container viaits propellantcharging valve. This described method has, however, many drawbacks. Not only must the containenaccurately be positioned by the charging machinery in the filling process, but.

also special equipment is necessary for carrying out the inversion of the container. Additionally, while the container is in,

the inverted position its overcap is susceptible to fracture and breakage because of the load imposed thereon in th e filling process.

The present invention is directed toamethod. of and,ap-

paratus for filling the containers of the character described wherein the containers are charged in the upright position, thus avoiding the need for special inverting equipment, wherein the containers are readilycharged without the need for prior placement of the overcap and whichare readily com.- patible with presently available assembly line charging machinery.

In accordance with one aspect of the present .inventioma compartmented container having a propellant-charging yalve in its base is filled with product and then charged with propellant by securing the container in its upright position to afilling platform adapted to support the container, and by introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant up through the filling.

platform and into the container.

In accordance with another aspect of thepresent invention, an apparatus is provided for charging propellant into an aerosol container having a manually operable ,dispensing yalve in the top and a propellant-charging valve in the base. The apparatus includes a filling platform adapted to support the container in the upright position, and a depending operating head positioned above said platform and which is adapted to engage the top of the container. Means are also provided for producing relative movement between the platform and the operating head sufficient to secure the container therebetween, and means, including a propellant-charging plunger, are provided for introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant up through the filling platform and propellant-charging valve and into the container. I

In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the apparatus further includes a fluid chamberand a u iston :positioned in the fluid chamber and coupled to the propellantcharging plunger. The piston is controlled by the fluid in the chamber to project the propellant-charging plunger up through the filling platform surface during the charging period to engage the propellant-charging valve of the compartmentcd aerosol container, the bottom of which is usually domed, and to retract the charging plunger below the surface upon completion of the charging.thereof. The piston is also spring biased to maintainthe charging plunger below the surface of the, filling platform, thus ensuring that the filling platform surface is completely unobstructed during the times that aerosol containers are not being charged and thereby facilitating indexing and loading and unloading procedures.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the fluid ofthc fluid chamber includes the propellant util- .ized incharging the aerosol containers, and both the charging plunger and the piston are channeled to provide a propellant conduit from the fluid chamber to the propellant outlet in the charging plunger.

There have thus been outlined rather broadly the more im portantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that.will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in,-the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes .of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the. claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Specific embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of,.illustration anddescription, and are shown in the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG; I is a side view, partially in section, of an aerosol container-chargingmachine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. ll; and

FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, of an alternate propellant-charging mechanism for use in an aerosol eontainer-charging machine embodying the present invention.

Referring now tothe drawings in detail, and more specifically to FIG. 1, there is shown a section of an aerosol container-charging machine-l0 having a filling platform 11 and a plurality of operating heads 12 which collectively define a plurality of charging stations shown generally at 14.

The filling platform 111 is preferably constructed to cooperate with, presently available aerosol assembly line packaging equipment in order that the aerosol containers 15 may be removed from the assembly line, charged with propellant, and repositioned back in the assembly line. Thus, for example, filling platform ll may be constructed and arranged in the same manner as the familiar rotatory filling tables found in the rotatory-type'filling and charging machines presently utilized by most of the aerosol packaging industry.

The operating heads l2 are'preferably constructed and arranged to secure aerosol containers 15 to the filling platform 11 in essentially the same'manner carried out heads found inexisting fillingand charging machines, such as,

by chargingfor example, the rotatory type mentioned above. The operating heads 12 do not, however, function to inject the propellant into the aerosol container as done by these prior art charging heads since the aerosol containers 15 are charged at their bottom portions from under the filling platform 11. Thus, like the prior art charging heads, operating heads 12 may include inverted cups 16 which bear upon the top surface of the aerosol container 15 to secure it firmly to the filling platform and which are selectively raised and lowered by piston rods 17 actuated in the fluid cylinder 19 and supported by piston rod guides 20.

As shown, aerosol containers 15 are of the standard threepiece construction including a domed top 21, a cylinder body 22 and a domed bottom 24. An inner plastic bag 25 depends from the top 21 and serves both as the container for the product to be dispensed and as a barrier between the product and the propellant. A manually operable valve 26 is provided in the top 21 and communicates with the interior of the plastic bag 25 for dispensing the product. The bottom 24 is centrally perforated to accept a propellant-charging valve 27. The charging valve 27 is preferably of the check valve type, that is to say one which is opened by externally applied fluid pressure and automatically sealed by internal'fluid pressure upon the removal of the external fluid pressure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it will be noted that each charging station 14 of the charging machine is provided with a propellant-charging mechanism 29 which functions to introduce a predetermined quantityof propellant into the aerosol containers 15. The propellant-charging mechanism 29 includes a fluid cylinder 30 housing a propellant-charging plunger 31. The fluid cylinder 30 has a top opening 32, and an upstanding integral guide 34 which functions to seat and guide the movement of the propellant-charging plunger 31. As shown in FIG. 2,. the. fluid cylinder 30 is preferably constructed to be secured to the underside of the filling platform 11 with the top opening 32 thereof communicating through a channel 35 with the top side of the filling platform. The propellant-charging plunger 31 is provided with a piston section 36 which bears against the inner walls of the fluid cylinder 30 by means of any O-ring 37. The plunger 31 is also provided with a fluid channel 39 which preferably runs along its entire longitudinal length as shown in FIG. 2, and which also communicates with the interior of the fluid cylinder 30 by ports 40 extending radially from the fluid channel 39 and through the sides of the propellant-charging plunger 31. A propellant input 41, connected to a source (not shown) which dispenses a predetermined amount of propellant, communicates with the interior of the fluid cylinder at a point just below the piston section 36.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plunger 31 is constructed to seat on the upstanding guide 34 and extends through the top opening 32 of the fluid cylinder 30 to a point just below the top of the opening in the filling platform 11. The propellant-charging plunger 31 is additionally spring biased to this mentioned seat position by spring 42 for reasons to be fully explained hereinafter.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, during the operation of the charging machine 10, the aerosol container 15 is placed in its upright position on the filling platform 11. Simultaneously, the depending operating head 12 is actuated to position its cup 16 over the top portion of the aerosol container 15 to secure the container firmly to the filling platfonn 11'. Thereafter, a predetermined amount of propellant is introduced under pressure into the fluid cylinder 30 by way of propellant input port 41. The propellant, under pressure, acts upon the piston section 36 and against the bias of spring 42 to move the plunger 31 up through the channel opening 35 to the propellant-charging valve 27 of the aerosol container. As shown in FIG. 3, when the plunger 31 is so positioned, ports are placed in fluid communication with the fluid channel 39. Accordingly, propellant is additionally forced through the ports 40 and through the fluid channel 39 to the propellant-charging valve 27. The pressurized propellant thereupon opens the propellant charging valve 27 and fills the container with a predetermined amount of propellant. When the exact amount of propellant has been forced into the container, the pressure is relieved from the propellant input port 41, thus in turn removing the pressure force on the piston section 36 and permitting the spring 42 to return the plunger 31 to the seated position shown in FIG. 2. 7

An alternate embodiment of the propellant-charging valve 29 is shown in FIG. 4, wherein like parts have like reference numerals. As shown therein, the. propellant-charging mechanism 44 is similar to the propellant-charging mechanism 29 described above, but additionally includes a counteracting valve piston 45 biased upwardly against shoulder 48 by spring 46 and which surrounds the propellantcharging plunger 31. O-rings 47, 49, and 50 are preferably provided at the points shown in FIG. 3 to insure fluidtight connections.

The mechanism 44 operates to fill the compartmented containers in substantially the same manner as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Thus, a predetermined amount of charging propellant is introduced under pressure at propellant input port 41. The pressure of the propellant forces the piston section 36 upwardly, and thus projects the plunger 31 against the bias of spring 42 up through the top opening 35 of the filling platform and to the propellant-charging valve 27 of container 15. After plunger 31 travels its full distance, the propellant pressure then causes the counteracting valve piston 45 to travel downwardly against the biasing of spring 46 and to expose the radially extending ports 40 above the O-ring 47. The propellant is thus able to flow through the ports 40 into the fluid channel 39 and through the valve 27 to fill the container. When the exact amount of propellant has been forced into the container, the pressure at propellant input port 41 is relieved and the plunger 31 and the counteracting piston valve 45 are returned to their original positions as shown in FlG. 3.

Thus, it may be seen from the above that there has been disclosed a method of and an apparatus for filling with propellant aerosol containers having propellant-charging valves in their base wherein the aerosol containers may readily be charged in their upright position, wherein it is not necessary to position overcaps on the aerosol containers before charging and which is readily compatible with presently available assembly line machinery.

What I claim as new and novel is:

l. A method for charging with propellant a container having amanually operable dispcnsing valve in the top portion and having a propellant-charging valve in the base portion, said method comprising securing said container in upright position between a filling platform and depending operating head positioned above said platform, said operating head engaging the top portion of said container, and introducing into said container a predetermined quantity of propellant by projecting up from said filling platform surface a propellant-charging plunger connected to a source of propellant to engage said propellant-charging valve and'retracting said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform after the charging is completed, said plunger being projected and retracted by moving with fluid a piston connected to said charging plunger and biasing said piston normally to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform. 3

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said pistonis moved by said propellant and wherein said propellant is forced through said piston and said plunger to an outlet in said plunger.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said piston is moved by a predetermined amount of propellant.

4. Apparatus for charging with propellant a container having a manually operable dispensing valve in the top portion and a propellant-charging valve in the base, said apparatus comprising a filling platform adapted to support said container in upright position, a depending operating head positioned above said platform and adapted to engage the top portion of said container, means for producing relative movement between said platform and said operating head sufficient to chamber, a propellant-charging plunger in said chamber for introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant through said filling platform and said propcllant-charging valve into said container and a piston coupled to said propellant-charging plunger, said piston being arranged to project said propellant-charging plunger up from the filing platform surface to engage said propellant-charging valve during the charging of said container and to retract same below the surface of said filling platform upon completion of said charging.

5. The apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said piston is activated by the fluid in said chamber and said piston is spring biased to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform.

6 The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said fluid includes said propellant and wherein said charging plunger and said piston are channeled to provide a propellant conduit from said fluid chamber to said charging plunger.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said fluid chamber is connected to dispensing means for supply of a predetermined amount of propellant.

8. Apparatus for charging with propellant a container having a manually operable dispensing valve in the top portion and having a propellant-charging valve in the base portion,

said apparatus comprising a fluid chamber adapted to be fastened to a filling platform which supports said container in an upright position, a propellant-charging plunger and piston means in said chamber, the latter adapted to be actuated by fluid under pressure in said chamber for projecting said plunger up from the filling platform surface to engage said propellant-charging valve of said container during the charging thereofand for retracting said plunger below the surface of said filling platform upon completion ofsaid charging.

9. The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said piston means is spring biased normally to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform.

[0 The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said charging plunger and said piston are coupled together and move in a common motion plane.

11. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein said fluid includes said propellant and wherein said charging plunger and said piston are channeled to provide a propellant conduit from said fluid chamber into said charging plungerv 12. The apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said fluid chamber is connectable to means for dispensing a predetermined amount of propellant. 

1. A method for charging with propellant a container having a manually operable dispensing valve in the top portion and having a propellant-charging valve in the base portion, said method comprising securing said container in upright position between a filling platform and depending operating head positioned above said platform, said operating head engaging the top portion of said container, and introducing into said container a predetermined quantity of propellant by projecting up from said filling platform surface a propellant-charging plunger connected to a source of propellant to engage said propellant-charging valve and retracting said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform after the charging is completed, said plunger being projected and retracted by moving with fluid a piston connected to said charging plunger and biasing said piston normally to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said piston is moved by said propellant and wherein said propellant is forced through said piston and said plunger to an outlet in said plunger.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said piston is moved by a predetermined amount of propellant.
 4. Apparatus for charging with propellant a container having a manually operable dispensing valve in the top portion and a propellant-charging valve in the base, said apparatus comprising a filling platform adapted to support said container in upright position, a depending operating head positioned above said platform and adapted to engage the top portion of said container, means for producing relative movement between said platform and said operating head sufficient to secure said container therebetween and means including a chamber, a propellant-charging plunger in said chamber for introducing a predetermined quantity of propellant through said filling platform and said propellant-charging valve into said container and a piston coupled to said propellant-charging plunger, said piston being arranged to project said propellant-charging plunger up from the filing platform surface to engage said propellant-charging valve during the charging of said container and to retract same below the surface of said filling platform upon completion of said charging.
 5. The apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said piston is activated by the fluid in said chamber and said piston is spring biased to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform. 6 The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said fluid includes said propellant and wherein said charging plunger and said piston are channeled to provide a propellant conduit from said fluid chamber to said charging plunger.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said fluid chamber is connected to dispensing means for supply of a predetermined amount of propellant.
 8. Apparatus for charging with propellant a container having a manually operable dispensing valve in the top portion and having a propellant-charging valve in the base portion, said apparatus comprising a fluid chamber adapted to be fastened to a filling platform which supports said container in an upright position, a propellant-charging plunger and piston means in said chamber, the latter adapted to be actuated by fluid under pressure in said chamber for projecting said plunger up from the filling platform surface to engage said propellant-charging valve of said container during the charging thereof and for retracting said plunger below the surface of said filling platform upon completion of said charging.
 9. The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said piston means is spring biased normally to maintain said charging plunger below the surface of said filling platform. 10 The apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said charging plunger and said piston are coupled together and move in a common motion plane.
 11. The apparatus as in claim 10 wherein said fluid includes said propellant and wherein said charging plunger and said piston are channeled to provide a propellant conduit from said fluid chamber into said charging plunger.
 12. The apparatus as in claim 11 wherein said fluid chamber is connectable to means for dispensing a predetermined amount of propellant. 